About mindfulness

Acceptance

One of the important attitudes of mindfulness is practising acceptance. This means being okay with how things are in the present moment, and while this does not mean that we have to like what is happening to us right now, accepting the present situation can help us to stop fighting against things we dislike, to stop wishing things were different. This gradually cultivates the ability to notice and let go of habits of negative judgment which can seize control of our lives, something which can be exhausting and create great unhappiness. There are certain things in life that are completely outside of our control. Practising acceptance in this way can help us to find the space to choose how to react to a given situation in life, and equally to find the space to create practical solutions. Practising acceptance is the opposite of ruminative, negative thinking about how we wish life could be (which reduces the ability to solve problems). Learning to accept can also help to give relief from, and even dissipate, emotional or physical pain and discomfort.

Being present

The ability to accept our situation depends upon the ability to be present with whatever is happening to us right now. Living in the present moment means not constantly reliving the past or worrying about the future, and whilst this can be difficult to do, it can be learned, and it is only in the present moment that we can begin to make positive changes.

Focusing directly on the body allows us to know in a different way, through all of our senses, and can quiet the chatter of the mind, thus opening up space to deal with discomfort in a more helpful way. Negative rumination can often be dissipated when we focus on the feeling in our body which it caused.

Being present and turning towards uncomfortable emotional or physical feelings and exploring them rather than running away from them, however difficult, can help us to see what may be behind our relationship with challenges, so that we might be able to engage with them differently and more helpfully, and this is an important step in healing. It’s like letting the storm blow itself out, if you can sit with it for long enough. Suppressing or fighting against pain, physical or emotional, often increases its impact.

Understanding unhelpful habitual responses

Mindfulness can help us to learn to recognise our unconscious habitual, and possibly unhelpful ways of thinking, what we might call mind traps, which perhaps stop us from living our life to the full. Being aware of when we are starting to react or have negative thoughts can offer us the space to step back and avoid falling into these traps, to acknowledge what is happening, and to consciously choose a more helpful response before we tumble into a negative spiral.

Similarly, mindfulness can help us to change our perspective on events in life. Habitual, inaccurate and negative interpretations of events can bring us much unhappiness, and it is through engaging in mindfulness that we can learn to be aware of this and consider alternative ways of thinking.

Rediscover the joy in life

Being present in everyday life can help us to rediscover joys which we may have forgotten how to notice. This in turn can make us feel happier.

Through practising mindfulness, we can learn to develop inner resources that we may never have known we possessed.